This disclosure relates to controlling an environmental control system to improve the energy efficiency and/or temperature comfort level provided by the environmental control system.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present techniques, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Environmental control systems, such as heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) systems, may manage a thermal environment of a structure, such as a residential or commercial building. Environmental control systems decide how to condition the structure properly, which may include varying an internal temperature, humidity, and/or other environmental characteristic. Since the structure has an associated thermal mass that needs to be heated or cooled, how and when the heating or cooling is carried out can greatly impact the energy efficiency as well as the temperature comfort level.
Generally, an environmental control system may be managed by a technique known as “bang-bang control.” Bang-bang control refers to the process used to turn on or off the heating or cooling devices of the system to heat or cool the structure when the temperature of the structure falls outside a temperature band. For example, in a cooling scenario, bang-bang control may turn on a cooling device such as an air conditioning system when the structure is a certain number of degrees (e.g., ˜0.5° C.) above a target temperature setpoint. Bang-bang control may turn off the cooling device when the temperature is a certain number of degrees (e.g., ˜0.5° C.) below the target temperature set point. Bang-bang control, however, is not concerned with energy efficiency or providing a more comfortable environmental temperature beyond maintaining the temperature of the structure within the target temperature band.